Cycle
by whalesaresatan
Summary: After three-hundred years in the dark, and old childhood friend finally breaks free of her chains and reaches out. OC/Jack
1. What Happened?

Ugh, why were her eyes so crusty? They shouldn't be. She wasn't sick, or maybe she was. What day was it exactly? June. She knew it was June. The summer heat was beating down on her tanned skin. It hurt but it was also strangely soothing though she knew sunburn was not far behind. _"Open your eyes. One, two, three. Open." _Opening her heavy eyes was much harder than she thought. The sun burned her eyes but she refused to close them. Why was she outside? Where was her warm bed?

** Bam. **That's when it hit her. The absolutely unbearable pain. She had never been in so much pain. It stretched across her stomach and onto her slender arms. Was she dead? Maybe, on one could live through _this_. At that moment she wished than she was dead. And then she screamed. Whether it was to test if she was alive or from the pain tearing through her body, she screamed. It was loud and shrill, eroding the back of her dry and delicate throat. The scream, for whatever reason, helped fight the pain. Expression had always helped her when she was in a bad situation.

_"Get up. Now."_ She told herself. People would probably think she was crazy if they could hear that tiny voice in her head. Absolutely bonkers. "_You will die if you aren't already_." With a final push and a great effort she sat up, slowly and painfully bringing her stiff shoulders and back off the grassy ground with a tearing sound as the greenery below her tore. Her bottom and back flashed with the same pain that was slowly spreading throughout her entire body. The terrible pain.

"What happened?" She said aloud. The words burned her throat to the point of tears and she squealed loudly. She made a mental note not to speak again unless she needed to. Stalling. She was only stalling and she knew it. She didn't want to see what was causing the terrible burning. _Just look down. You're so weak. _Mean words. Mean words had always motivated her. So she did. She looked resulting scream was so loud she was surprised the village hadn't heard her. She knew there had to be some youngsters running around somewhere. Why hadn't they noticed her absence yet?

Her stomach had been slashed multiple times but it was nothing compared to her limbs. Her arms and legs had been sliced to the bone with the addition of horrifying bite marks, skin and muscle hanging off her yellowing bones pitifully. She was bathing,_ bathing _in blood. The usually thick red liquid had dried considerably, sticking her skin and clothes to the dirt and grass beneath her. How was she still alive? Nearly all of her blood was laid around her like a crimson blanket, leaving her skin a greyish blue. _Oh God_. She repeated it over and over again in her head. It became her mantra. _Oh god, oh go, oh god._ She screamed once again, letting several sobs slip through the pained sound.

"Please don't cry." A small voice said from behind her. She jumped, causing more fiery pain to shoot through her body. Help. It had to be. The voice was so _familiar_. Where had she seen it before?

"It'll be okay, Annie." The soothing voice circled around her to her front. The young girl was about eight years old, completely untouched by whatever had attacked Anima and the forest. Annie knew who she was instantly. She knew her since she was an infant, loving her like family. "Cupid?" She said softly, holding out a mangled, bloody arm. Cupid hushed her and kneeled down to touch the teenager on her cheek. Cupid was deathly cold and her normally golden skin was a sickly pale blue.

"What happened?" Molly helplessly stuttered. The pain slowly began to fade away, leaving behind a strange numbness. It was a refreshing change from the searing pain that was flowing through her earlier but still uncomfortable and Annie would prefer if she was back to normal. Cupid pulled her arm away from Annie just long enough to to point out the huge grizzly bear on the very edge of the treeline. Behind her lingered three young cubs.

Memories began to flood into Annie's foggy mind and she began to cry. She curled into a ball, bring back a bit of that pain and sobbed into Cupid's shoulder. Cupid hummed to her in a very motherly way. It was odd being cared for by someone so young, usually

"It'll be okay."

_It had been six months since what happened. The days and weeks were filled with depression, which she spent with the boy's family. His mother, May usually sat around the cabin she shared with her daughter drinking tea and sobbing. Annie wasn't sure if her being there made the poor old woman worse or better, she never did say. Despite May might have been feeling Annie went. It comforted both herself and the boy's younger sister, Cupid. The girl looked just like her brother, the same brown hair, the chocolate eyes, playful smile. Annie loved to see how excited Cupid's face became when she saw the teenager._

_ "Hey, Annie" She would say softly, often wiping away stray tears as she did. Annie would give her a half smile and a look of empathy. She missed that terrible boy as much as Cupid did. Eventually Cupid would recover enough to talk playfully to Annie, asking her to play games or do normal girly things._

_ "Hey Annie, wanna braid hair?" or "Annie, I found this huge bug outside. Wanna see it?" Annie would always say yes, even with her intense fear up insects. The little girl became a sister of sorts to Annie, something she actually enjoyed. Cupid was a lovely girl, always so polite and nice. She welcomed Annie into her life with open arms even with the rather shaky start to their relationship. _

_ "Are you going out with that witch again, Jack?" She would always say. Annie was standing at the door when she would say it, usually hurting her feelings badly. Annie wanted to be friends with her. She tried. After Jack's death they both needed support. Of course it was worse for Cupid, she had watched her brother die. Annie could only imagine how awful that had been for her. _

_ "Wanna go to the pond?" Cupid asked sweetly one day. It puzzled Annie but she didn't ask, just nodded her approval. "Just don't tell your mother." Annie said. May wouldn't like knowing that Annie had brought Cupid to the place her brother had died. Annie wasn't fond of worsening the woman's constantly glum mood even more._

_ The walk there was short but hot. Annie looked at the pond, no longer dangerous without the ice. It hurt to look at, seeing Jack's helpless look when her eyes grazed over the surface of the water. Jack was her boyfriend, she wasn't just some obsessed fangirl. She had a right to be sad, a privilege of sorts. She'd seen that helpless look before. Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound._

_ Cupid was running happily around the pond, running her fingers through the too long grasses as she did so. She looked so carefree in that moment, just enjoying being there. It melted Annie's heart and soon she joined her in the celebration, dashing around in games of tags and allowing the smaller girl to tackle her. It was the most fun either of them have had in months and it felt so much better than the terrible depression that they were always swimming in. It shocked Annie when it ended abruptly. _

_ "Annie." Cupid whispered warningly from in front of Annie . The tone of her voice made the teenager tense and her childish laugher quickly died. Why was she speaking like that? The younger girl was frozen in her spot starting just behind Annie. "What?" Annie asked quietly with worried eyes at her friend. Her lack of answer scared Annie even further and a bead of sweat began to race from her hairline to her jaw. She followed her gaze, turning on her heel come face to face with a beast. A grizzly. She froze in fear. Behind the bear wear three small cubs._

_ "Cupid. Run." Annie said slowly. The bear began to stalk toward the raven haired girl, making her heart race faster and faster. "No." Cupid replied sternly. Annie was amazed by her bravery but grew angry at her rejection to Annie's protection. The teenager didn't have time to scold her before the bear growled, charging immediately afterwards. _

_ "SHIT!" Annie screamed uncharacteristically as she jumped in the giant's path, creating a pitiful barrier between the bear and Cupid. Blood-curdling screams, crunching, tearing, and growling followed. _

The scene played quickly in her mind but she felt every single moment of it. Whatever was left of her sanity probably fled in that moment. Cupid looked down at her apologetically as if it was her fault they were both dead. She was indeed the one that had asked to play by the pond in the first place. Annie wasn't about to blame this poor girl for that. Never.

Annie was a mess of sobs and tears. This was terrible, absolutely terrible. Is this what always happened when people died? Is this what Jack had to go through? Waking up freezing and dead? The poor boy. The pair sat like that for what felt like an eternity, time not really matter in that moment. Suddenly Cupid tugged out of the embrace, her face looking even sadder than it had before. "Annie, I have to go." The little girl informed tearfully. Panic. Panic is what she felt. Never had she felt such an intense panic in her sixteen years of living with the exception of the moment that bear charged.

"Where? Where are you going? I need to come with you." Annie pleaded helplessly. Cupid wouldn't really leave her. Annie _had _to protect her. Cupid looked at her confused for a moment. "You're different, Annie. You can't come. I just don't know why." _No. Oh God no. Please no_. Annie looked around for a way out of the situation, searching frantically and for the first time actually taking in her surroundings.

"_Beautiful"_ She muttered to no one. The colors were _everywhere_. The trees had a brilliant white aura making them look pure and angelic. The rest of the plants were identical, enveloped by the crystal aura before it melted into the swirling mass of colors that surrounded everything. Her emerald eyes scanned the clearing of the pond, desperately searching for more colors when she spotted the bears. Pure white. They looked back at her.

"Do you see that?" She whispered in awe to Cupid, hoping she wasn't crazy. Cupid stepped in front of her to see her face. Cupid glowed a deep red color and a waves of will-power rolled off of her blue form. "I don't see anything, Annie. What is it?" She asked in a worried tone.

Different. She was different. Cupid was write. "What do you see, Annie?" Cupid asked, still confused by the teenager's odd behavior. "The colors." Annie said as she shakily stood to her feet, looking a lot like a newborn deer on her still moderately numb limbs. The pain had dulled to nothing but a dull ache, the wounds beginning to close and seal themselves shut, leaving behind lumpy scars. She stumbled around, viewing the colors that were all around her. How could Cupid not see them? They were so _bright. _She reached up to touch the colors, just to see if she could. Nothing happened at first, just slight vibrating movement around her hand. "Come on, it's okay." She said gently out loud to the colorful particles as if they listened to her soothing words. The colors collected in her hand, becoming dense but retaining a sort of smokey shape.

"Oh my goodness." Annie heard Cupid gasp from behind her. She was obviously in disbelief, but of what? She can't see the colors. "I see them. It's in your hand. How can you do that?" The teenager didn't answer. She was too wrapped up in the colors that were following her fingertips like satin ribbons. They caressed her digits gently, feeling much like the grass she had been playing in. She turned around to look at the younger female. "How long have I been out?" She asked curiously, the colors still running over her fingers. Cupid shrugged.

"A day or so." She said before nearly skipping up behind the teenager, giving her a bone-crushing hug. Annie smiled brightly, wrapping her hands around Cupid and pulling her closer. Cupid pulled away reluctantly and beamed up at her.

"I need to go, Annie." She said sadly with another quick hug. Annie gave her a small grin and patted her gently on the top of her head. "Do what you need to do, Sweetie." She assured sweetly and messed her hair considerably, leaving it as a messy mop on her head. Cupid pulled away from her and began to jog towards the edge of the woods, turning once last time to send a wave to Annie.

"Bye, Annie!" She squealed excitedly. Annie chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"Bye, Cupid."

* * *

Okay, so that wraps up Cupid for a while. I have recently read that Cupid actually dies at some point and becomes the guardian of love. I'm not sure I liked that. No, I definitely don't, doesn't that seem too predictable? Maybe it's just me.

Also, I had to edit this over because I found the name Molly in there. That is just a starter name I sure for everything until I come up with a final name. I male one is Nikolai because let's not lie, that is the classiest name on this green Earth.

Until next time


	2. Life

The once bustling village seemed to be in a slow trance. All the people looking grey, tired, and depressed. What had happened? Surely the deaths weren't that big a deal, they were never very involved in with the rest of the village, chosing to instead keep to themselves for the most part. Though still people sobbed softly as they walked on, thinking of the three children. Maybe it was a bigger deal than Annie had made it out to be. Coming across the small memorial dedicated for Jackson, Cupid, and herself hit Annie like a brick. She really was dead, no way around it. She had known it of course but the constant reminder was a bit more painful than would care to mention.

Annie visited the memorial everyday. It pained her to see it, but she couldn't help but look. There were three crosses stuck into the ground neck to the pond and three more in the middle of the village. The crosses were different sizes that seemed to symbolize their ages, eight, sixteen, and eighteen, the largest belonging to Jackson and the smallest belonging to Cupid, whose cross stood in the middle of the three. The main thing she noticed were the colors that surrounded the graves. Vibrant colors swirled in a lively fashion around Cupid's cross, seeming to dance with her. Annie did notice however, that the crosses symbolizing Jack's and her own passing were dulled, the colors slowly circling around the area like clouds. She had passed it off as their age. The older, the less tragic, though she had to question that theory with all the mourning happening lately.

Annie also found herself visiting the bear, who Annie had named Frost after the Frost family. Frost was always lurking around the woods near the pond with her cubs, who seemed to be growing more everyday. Annie hadn't named them. Annie would often sit near the family of bears as they dug through bushes or relaxed in the summer sun. She knew that Frost could see her, feel her. The mother bear would give her a nod or grunt of approval and continue on as she had before seeing the girl. The cubs didn't care much, jumping and staggering along side their mother. Annie would just smile. She didn't blame the bear for what happened to her. How could she? Frost was just protecting what was important to her just as Annie had with Cupid. Annie instead felt honored that the bear allowed the spirit near her cubs. _"Maybe it's an apology."_ Annie found herself thinking that a lot. Could bears be regretful? She believed they could by the way the mother bear acted around her.

The last thing Annie would visit daily were Jackson's mother and her own father. May was usually in her cabin, drinking tea or crying. Sometimes doing both. The poor woman was broken after losing two children and someone she had considered a second daughter. Annie's heart was shredded upon seeing the older woman curled in a ball sobbing violently. There was not a thing the teenager could do. Annie wanted to walk up and place a hand on May's shoulder or cover her in a blanket, just a comforting gesture that showed someone cared about her but she couldn't and she hated it. May never had company or visitors, unless it was Annie's father, who May would never talk to. They would just sit there in mutual understanding of loss. Annie herself would begin to cry when the pair let silent tears fall together. Nothing. Annie could do nothing. She would attempt to push them, slap them, knock things over, but nothing ever worked. She didn't even exist any longer to them. She was just gone. It hurt. It cut Annie so deep that it left a perminant scar in her heart. They would never know she was there. She wished they would just believe she was there.

Eventually she would have to leave to fufill her still present human needs. It surprised Annie the first time her stomach growled after waking up. It was shocking that her dead belly still needed filling. She feasted on the rotting, fallen apples from under the trees that no one would want to eat, no harm done to the village or any of the actually edible food. The food she ate was disgusting of course, fly covered meats, rotting fruits and vegetables. It turned her stomach at first, but she got used to it eventually, now looking forward to eating after spending a day walking around her family and friends. The teenager sat against the thin trunk of an apple tree, munching on a soft and browning apple that had been laying at her covered feet. It was awful tasting as usual, long past the sweetness of a ripe apple it nearly melted in her mouth. Annie stood up, tossing the core of the apple over he shoulder and wiped her sticky fingers on the skirt of her dress before strolling back towards her old cabin.

At the end of the day Annie would always travel back to her old cabin. Sometimes she saw her father there looking at some of her old things are simply just sitting quietly. He didn't talk to anyone other than May and avoided going out unless absolutely needed. When he did so, no one would talk to him but they would stare so sympatheticly at the brittle old man before them. Oh how lively he used to be. Annie imagined that his colors would be so bright that they would burn her eyes, but they were dull, almost grey. This poor man. Annie wished she hadn't been so stupid, wished that she could've said no to Cupid. "_It was meant to happen_" Annie reassured herself. There was no way to prevent it. The past could not be changed. Annie would enter the house glumly, phasing through her bedroom and front door easily, a skill she had taught herself overnight. She would lay down in her bed and sleep. This was inevitable. She was going to die sooner or later anyways. Annie found herself desperately fighting off the thoughts that insisted that it was Cupid's fault. _She WANTED you to die! She knew there was a bear! She knew it was dangerous!_

No.

It was her own fault. Cupid was just a bystander. It was Annie's responsibility to keep Cupid safe and she failed. Tears of regret rolled down her dirty cheeks, leaving clean streaks down to her chin before soaking into the pillow below her head.

_"What a terrible day."_

* * *

I am _sorry_. I have had no time to update this and to be honest I have no idea how to continue. I have the base story line laid out but it's these little bits that I just can't push out. Sorry if there was any grammar or spelling mistakes, I didn't look at it at all after I wrote it so it's no edited at all. I'm also SERIOUSLY sorry that it is so short.

By no time I mean I've been replaying The Walking Dead game over and over and crying for weeks. I love that game. seriously.

Also, you should listen to the song Vamos A La Playa by Loona. That is currently my jam.


	3. Talents

The first time Annie used the colors for anything particularly useful, she was in shock. It was accidental of course but it happened. She had _moved _something with the colors. She had no idea.

It was during the later months of her wandering and she was doing just that. Wandering. It had been her usual day; walking aimlessly around the village visiting people she cared for. She had been in her father's cottage at the time, leaning up against the small tree stump they had used as a table. He was outside of the cabin skinning and gutting a rabbit he had hunted that morning. He did this every evening. Got home covered in dirt and blood, prepared the meat, saving most of it and eating what he wanted. It was a routine.

She had noticed something about her father in the last few weeks that she had been visiting. Instead of that constant aura of depression, sadness, and anger, there was a hint of happiness. It started out small, just a dash of it before the emotion grew to be almost overwhelming, leaving her emerald eyes dry. Annie was, of course, proud and happy for him but the nagging curiosity refused to leave her be. What had him so happy?

"_Maybe I'll just go see what he's doing"_ Annie thought as she laid down in a soft bed of grass outside of the village it was beginning to get a bit chilly and she had wanted to lay in the sun. What could he possibly be doing that made him so happy? So she stood and began to walk the way back to her father's cottage; touching the plants she passed, causing them to spring up from her excitement. It did not take long to get to her front door, twenty minutes at most. It didn't seem long at all to someone who is immortal. She phased through the door easily though the act always left a tingly, stinging sensation. Her head turned left towards the stump table, feeling another person before seeing them. Her father was there but he was with someone. A woman. She was absolutely beautiful. Her chestnut hair was soft and long and her facial features were rounded perfectly. She looked to be older, like Annie's father, with small wrinkles around her face. It made her look imperfect, thus adding to her perfection. If that made sense. Her father's aura nearly blinded her with the joy he felt and Annie couldn't help the small grin that spread across her face.

Annie understood now. Who wouldn't be happy to have such a beautiful creature in there life? Annie was overjoyed for her father; some of his glowing emotion spilling into her own energy and she soaked it up willingly. He had finally found someone to make him happy and forget his losses. When the women leaned over to give the older man a kiss on his cheek; both Annie and her father's auras exploded. This is how the small cup on the table between the two slipped a bit and shattered on the floor. Annie stepped back a bit in surprise. Had she done that? No one was even touching it, how? Annie left then, leaving her father and the woman to clean up the scattered tea and shards. She could move things? Well there is something she _wasn't _told. Annie giggled a bit at the thought, who would have told her?

Annie spent the rest of the day in the clearing with the pond practicing her new ability. She nearly gave up more than once. It took so much strength to move anything if she didn't have enough energy. She started with a small rock placed in front of her. She would sit cross-legged around two feet away from the rock. The more she concentrated, the more the colors swirled around the rock. They seemed to get more dense as she thought. Finally, when she believed she had the appropriate amount of energy and density around the rock she would lift it. This was the hard part for her. How do you move something that wasn't part of you? _You make it part of you. _Annie was already a part of the colors, she knew that. But she hadn't taken advantage of that.

It had taken a total of six days to perfect her little trick. Annie could just think about something shooting up into the sky and it would . Even the heavier objects would follow her orders, though they were a bit harder to mentally lift. Soon enough she was lifting anything she wanted. Trees, boulders, people.

Non-solid objects were the hardest. They would leak through the cracks in her energy shells that were tough to effectively repair. It was a lot like trying to securely hold water in your closed hands without it leaking out which was near impossible. It was eventually fixed by adding additional layers of energy. Annie was ecstatic. She could move _anything._ What exactly she _needed _to move, Annie didn't know but what a skill to have.

The next amazing feat she practiced was using the colors to move herself. She did it just how she would move anything else; she visualized it, starting with a inch and making her way up. All was working well until she got to about five inches. Maybe she went a bit too high or got a bit too excited, but she shot into the ground hard, nearly breaking her neck in the process. "Jesus!" She had nearly died...again! Maybe she'd try again tomorrow. Hopefully she won't die.

"You really should be more careful." Said a charming voice from above her.

* * *

This chapter is short and kinda dumb so I'm super sorry I just needed a way to introduce Pitch into the story without him being terrifying and evil. Next I want to clarify a few things that might be kind of confusing, or maybe not, whatever.

- The colors Annie sees are not assigned to a specific emotion or anything, just rainbow mish-moshes of color. You know when you open your eyes in a pool a lot and everything that reflects light is super rainbow radiant? Think 60's.

- Annie is sixteen currently in the story which understandably is pretty young but I wanted her to be young. Jack was 18 when he died in my imagination and I'm guessing that pitch was probably in his thirties, forties. So all the pairings I will be doing are a tad bit weird. They are a lot better than before though, she used to be fifteen.

- Jack will come into the story later.

- So will the rest of the guardians

- Please review seriously. People have been reading and following but there are no reviews. Please help me out here.

- ALSO, if you would like to help be out with the story, leave a review explaining what you would like to happen and I will be happy to take into consideration.

Listen to Almost There by Anika Noni Rose (Princess and the Frog) Because I like that movie.


	4. Friend

The voice was dark but had an underlying gentle tone. What surprised Annie more than anything was the fact that this voice was talking to her. Could _see _her. She finally looked up at the origin of the voice and found a tall grey man. His face looked similar to a birds, with crazy black hair, and golden cat-like eyes. She would have found him extremely terrifying if she wasn't still in shock from both her earlier fall and his ability to see her. The only other person who had ever been able to see her was Cupid. Did that mean this guy was dead as well? He just stared at her face with an almost smug expression. He was also nearly impossible to feel. There were little to none emotion leaking from his pores.

"What's your name?" He said softly, as if trying to sooth her. Annie looked at him skeptically for a moment before answering. "Annie." she said confidently, trying her best to look unintimidated by this gigantic, grey man. He hummed a big before bowing just a bit to make a formal introduction. "Pitch. Pitch Black." He said with a kiss to her a tiny hand. _Oh wow. _Annie's face turned a bit red at that man's attention. _Get it together. _She snatched her hand away from Pitch's. "You may know me as the Boogieman." Annie cringed a bit a this. She was taught to be afraid of the Boogieman since she was a toddler and now here he was in front of her, being complete pleasant and gentlemanly.

"How can you see me?" Annie said forcefully; staring at the man once again. His angular face seemed to suddenly become sympathetic and his tongue clicked through puckered lips. He circled her slowly as he spoke. "Oh poor Annie. Looks like someone is not believed in." He said with a long hand on her shoulder. Her emerald eyes turned to look up at him from behind her. She knew that the confusion was on prominant on her features. "What do you mean?"

He explained it short, sweetly, and plainly to her. "You were chosen. I was as well. We have a purpose. Mine is fear. The less children believe in you, the less you exist to them." Easy enough to understand. It was pretty clear that she was chosen for a reason. Still, she had to sit for a moment to absorb the new information. So she wasn't damned to just wander around for thousands of years. Annie sighed in relief at that. Pitch stood a few feet away from her with his hands behind his back. He looked to regal and classy. She had known this man for just a few minutes and she already trusted him more than most. There was just something about him. He bent down to her level with a welcoming expression.

"Now Kitten, I can change that for you." He said soothingly with a stroke to her raven hair. _He's a bit touchy. _A chance to be able to speak to people again, to interact with people? How on Earth could she pass that up? But how, exactly, would he do that? She began to get excited. "You'll need some training, new clothes." He said in near disgust. It was true. The only clothes she wore were the tattered, torn, bloodied rags from the day she was killed. The dress no longer dragged around her ankles, instead in was around mid-thigh. She hated it, actually. It showed all the deep, jagged scars from the bears. Still, she cringed at his tone, no longer soothing and buttery. "How?" Annie asked helplessly. A grin spread across his face. "Come."

Annie stepped into his open arms and he hugged her loosely. She surprised herself, even when Annie was alive she wasn't one to so easily listen to those to ordered her around. Black smoke seeped from the ground around there feet and surrounded them completely, covering any evidence of the grass, sky, trees. Annie couldn't keep in the scream that escaped her throat at the darkness. It didn't feel good, it felt _evil_. Pitch hushed her lightly and pet her long hair. It calmed her significantly and she quieted her screams to just heavy breathing. When the smoke leaked back into the ground Annie was allowed to take a look at her surroundings. She was in a clearing surrounded by dying and greying trees. In front of her was a rickety old bed. There was almost nothing left except for the molding frame. Underneath that was a dark hole. Fear was beginning to build up in the young girl. Where did the hole lead? Pitch let go of her and stepped up to the hole, gesturing for her to follow before he slithered in. She stood still, not wanting to see what was down the hole. It felt just like the dark smoke from earlier. "Come on." Pitch's voice echoed from the hole. It held no emotion much like his aura. _Just go. _Annie stumbled over to the hole to look down. It appeared to have no bottom. _Do it. Do it. _She nodded to herself; diving feet first into the small pit.

Annie hit the ground softly unlike the hard impact she had been expecting. What she saw before her was stunning. A gigantic, black castle; fully equiped with large grey dragon. "That's Abdiel." Pitch said plainly, flicking his hand in the lizard's direction. It lifted its huge head at the mention of the name and looked at Pitch. It rested it's head on the ground when Pitch didn't respond. They crossed a rotting draw bridge and entered the castle. The floor was dark speckled granite, along with the walls. Annie was in awe. In the middle of the room was a large stair case with two other cases on either side. "You will be staying in the east wing until further notice. Dinner is in two hours. Be dressed appropriately. " He ordered simply. Annie turned in his direction to thank him but he was gone. What happened to the charm and class he had been just moments before? _Whatever._ At least she had a place to went up the stairs and went to her left, hoping that was the east wing. It led to a hall with several doors. _Oh boy. _She opened the nearest one; revealing the grandest bathroom see had ever seen. It was beautiful. The next was three interconnected rooms filled with clothing and shoes. The rest of the doors were closets, bathrooms, and bedrooms. And she got these all to _herself? _Crazy.

Selecting one of the bedrooms was easy enough. She chose the largest one obviously. The bed was covered in black silk and was draped in a thin, sheer fabric hung from the ceiling. Across from the bed was a vanity with a silver mirror and cosmetic tools. She felt like such a princess.

Suddenly Annie became excited. She could get dolled up! She hasn't been dolled up in _forever. _Finally she could invest some time into looking pretty. Annie stripped down to nothing, leaving the rags on the floor and dashing over to the royal looking bathroom. She bathed quickly, watching the clear water in the metal tub turn dark from dried blood and dirt. Annie hadn't even noticed how filthy she was until she could no longer see her legs under the surface of the water. Her hair was near impossible to groom with all the matted tangles. She swears that she ripped out half of her hair in the process of combing it but by the time she was done it was soft, silky, and tangle-free. Amazing compared to what it was previously.

The clothes in the three-room-closet were impressive. Even the richest of people probably couldn't afford them. Eventually she chose a simple dark red gown. The intricate corset was jet black and lifted up her breasts immensely. Being only sixteen it wasn't exactly appropriate, but looked nice regardless. Not much she could do with her hair at this point but it was dried enough to look somewhat presentable. Annie wasn't really too picky when it came to how she looked anyways. She still had around a half hour left by the time she was dressed and ready.

_Where the hell is the dinning room? _She stepped out of the large room and into the long hall. The only optional way was down the corridor. Annie didn't particularly want to go to the west wing where Pitch was staying so she chose to go down the main staircase. Next were two arching doors on her right and left, one obviously leading to the dinning area, shown by the long table and multiple chairs. Pitch was sitting at the very end of the table simply waiting. The table was already set with steaming platters and silver plates, meaning he may have been waiting for a few minutes.

Annie stepped into the room quietly thanks to her bare feet. She pattered passed the seat on the opposite side from where Pitch was, which was where she was obviously _supposed _to sit, and dumped herself in the seat diagonal from him. She could feel his emotions quite strongly this time; displeasure, irritation. Both probably had supporting evidence. "What's for dinner," Annie said flippantly. "I'm starving." Pitch's features drooped a bit at her actions.

"You're late." He said plainly. Annie seemed to ignore him and continued to scan the table and lift up platter tops. "This beef?" She pointed to a particularly red and juicy piece of meat before stabbing it with her fork and slapping it on her plate.

"Your hair is shaggy."

"Yeah, it usually does what it wants."

"You're not properly dressed." He said, his negative emotions flaring.

"Who _**exactly **_am I trying to impress?" Annie asked stubbornly with a mouth full of meat. The juices dripped down her chin in a red line, down her neck, and towards her chest. Whether or not it was to prove her point or it was just coincidental, Pitch wasn't exactly sure and he stared at her flabbergasted. "You come from a peasant area, don't you?" He accused tiredly with two fingers on his temples. The girl stopped stuffing food into her face to look up at him with an offended expression.

"What makes you say that?" She said; again with a full mouth. Potatoes, meat, and vegetables nearly spilling from her stuffed cheeks. Pitch groaned loudly at her manners as he rose from his seat and began to walk away, shoving his half-full plate towards her to finish. "Your training will begin in three days." He said over his shoulder to her. Annie rose a brow at his behavior before shoving even more food into her mouth. It was awesome to eat things that were actually edible and devoid of flies.

* * *

I'm really proud of this chapter, even if it is still short, it's longer than all my others. So Yay! I'm also proud of any banter between Annie and Pitch, just because. I actually think they're kind of adorable together.

Door is open to suggestions because I'm sure anyone reading as super ideas.

Drop me a review with any advice or just anything you like. Follow, favorite. I'm making this story my top priority from now on!

Check out the song One Last Hope from Disney's Hercules. The vast majority of the songs I recommend will be Disney. They'll just help to put you in the mood of the chapter. Except for this one, I just think that song is super.

Until next time, thank you!


	5. Training

Three days go by in ridiculously slow speeds when you have absolutely nothing fun to do. Annie had done nearly everything that there was to do in the huge, _boring, _castle. She dug deep into the closets -even finding pants, cleaned, lifted things up and down with the colors, hung out with Abdiel though it was clear he wasn't too found of her, even tended the garden at the northern wall of the building. The flowers were mainly reds, blacks, greys, dark blues, and purples. They were bleak and disappointing to the vibrant flowers back home; so she touched them up just a bit by upping the colors to be bright and beautiful. Pitch, of course, did not like this. Bright blues, pinks, and yellowed just didn't match his style, Annie had assumed. In fact, Pitch disagreed with anything fun she did. One day she had levitated her bed and rode it down the long maze of hallways. Pitch had actually _yelled _at her for that, stating that she, "Could have damaged his things or hurt herself." So no fun happened in the Black manor. He said that fun brings around unwanted characters. The meaning of that statement puzzled Annie greatly. What characters? Like, people? Whatever the meaning, she listened and stayed quiet for the three days

"I'm going to die of boredom here." Annie said to herself as she lay down on her fluffy bed. "Die. I'm just going to die." She stated almost as a response to her first assumption. Was it possible to die of boredom? Even if it wasn't, Annie was definitely going to, no doubt in her mind. What was it like to die of boredom? "_Probably rather boring" _Annie thought with a particularly unladylike snort. Perhaps if she was entertained to some degree she wouldn't have found the lame joke funny. Annie groaned, all this boredom was messing with her humor.

She was about to sink back into _boring _thoughts when a dark, shadowy, mass rose from the wooden floor. Annie had grown used to the visitors. They were a bit like Pitch's helpers or messengers, telling her this and that. With no defined features or shape, Annie wasn't exactly sure what to call them. Blobs? They all had voices but not audible ones, choosing instead to communicate telepathically with her. The voices were all different and unique but were all deep and rumbly. Intimidating was the word Annie would use though they had never tried to hurt her. Pitch obviously wouldn't like that very much. She was something Pitch needed, Annie figured. _You don't throw away something you need. _It stung just a bit knowing that she was nothing more than a tool.

_"You are needed in the courtyard." _The being said in Annie's head. The courtyard? Did she even know where that was? She'd find it eventually. "_Dress in clothing appropriate for physical activity." _It continued in monotone. So the training begins. What would she be trained in exactly and what for? Would he use her for races? Like, horse races? Annie giggled to herself as the entity melted back into the floor of her large room.

Annie stood slowly from the mattress, the cold from the wood seeping into the rough skin on her feet. Should she bathe? She was pretty stinky, but she would stink after anyways so what was the point? Okay, no bathing. Annie strode across the hall to the gigantic room filled with hundreds of articles of clothing, mainly dresses. What would she wear for "physical activity?". Fishing through the layers of fabric she eventually found a pair of brown pants, hunting pants by the look of it. Pants were something she was familiar with, even if only vaguely. She wore them to go stomping around in the snow with friends every now and then. Friends. That was a word Annie didn't use very often anymore. Her only real current friend would probably be Pitch, but Annie figured he didn't like her much, but oh, their first encounter was so _charming. _"Of course he cares about me." She said to herself as she shook her head. Silly. Of course. Shaking her head out of the clouds, Annie dug back into the clothes until she found a simple black shirt. Perfect.

The outfit looked weird on her, probably because the girl was used to dresses and aprons. She looked, strong, dangerous even. Her favorite part of definitely the heavy leather boots. It thrilled Annie to look such a way. How exciting! It was so new and interesting to switch the gender roles for a while.

The courtyard wasn't as difficult to find as she had thought. It was just around the back of the castle and stretched for a good mile or so. Usually it was just plain tall grass with the occasional grey flower but today the grass was cut short and there were ten different stables littering the range of space. Pitch stood near the middle of the field speaking quietly with two men, both about as tall as Pitch himself. The man at his left looked human with tanned skin though it was covered with various dashes and tattoos. He was also adorned in heavy looking armor. The man on Pitch's right was a bit taller than Annie's housemate. Maybe just a few inches. His skin was a blueish grey stretched over almost human features. His clothing was drapped elegantly over his shoulders like a waterfall. He was beautiful, absolutely. Their discussion stopped when Annie approached. Pitch's smile was warm for the first time in three days as he held a long hand towards her. She took it absently and strutted next to him. The two other men eyed her thoughtfully. Annie couldn't help but wonder what kind of training this was.

"Annie," Pitch said softly to gain her attention. "They will be your trainers today. " He pointed to the man with the heavy armor. "He will train you in combat," Combat? Why? Next he pointed to the elegant man on the right. "He will help you to better control your abilities." Annie nodded at the introduction, figuring that they were already fully aware of who she was. No names, that hardly seemed polite. The first man with the armor shoved his hand out toward her with a charming smile, as if to shake it, which they did. He was close enough for Annie to see the small about of stubble that sprinkled over his jaw line. "I'll be going first." He said smoothly. His voice was warm and sounded a bit like verbal butter.

He led Annie to the first of the stables. Inside were sacks of different materials. Dirt, mud, brick, stone, wood, which she was expected to lift. The man taught her lift with her legs, not her back, and lock her arms. She passed each test with flying colors until the eighty pound mark. The sack of coal could've been glued to the floor for all the good she was doing, but her trainer didn't pester her, just nodded and tugged her to the next of ten stables. The rest of the combat training took around five hours. He had his own five stables for his training including strength, agility, hand-to-hand combat, knives and swords, and archery. archery was her favorite though she was admittedly bad at it. The arrow kept swiveling to the side or limply clattering to the floor. Her trainer laughed soflty at her before taking the bow and arrow from her hands. "Not one of your strong points, okay." He said between laughs. It stunned Annie how human he was, it made him easier to relate to. Easy to relate to until he shot right down the center of an arrow without even looking.

"What can I call you?" Annie said before leaving. He shrugged, causing his armor to clank around. "Whatever you want I guess. Nothing stupid, though." He warned playfully. He didn't seem so deadly. Maybe he was newer to this like her. Annie nodded, quickly scanning her brain for a name. "Archer." Annie said simply based on his little trick. Archer nodded an okay as she left. The next man was standing right outside the opening of the hut waiting for her. He looked a lot more like Pitch than the last man.

"Hello." He said. The faint accent in his voice led her to believe that maybe he was around the same area as Pitch. Maybe they knew each other when they were alive? The idea was an interesting one, Pitch having buddies was humanizing. Annie and her trainer walked slowly side by side to the next stable, speaking softly as they did.

"What'll you teach me?" Annie said casually, not understanding any need for formalities. He glanced at her briefly before turning looking ahead of them.

"Energy. Basics and advanced. Pitch has told me you are actually quite skilled with your abilities. I'll just help you with them a bit. Pinpointing your energy, strengthening it, building it up, movement, and attacks." He said without even turning his head to her. "Call me Lev, everybody does." Annie rose a brow at this. Did Pitch go out with his guys from time to time? Give them nicknames? She would have never thought.

"So there are more people like you?" Annie asked. Lev turned to look at her this time, as if she was stupid. Oh yeah, he definitely had Pitch's attitude. "Of course. Many of us. The first was the Man on the Moon. He carefully selects us because we have a purpose. Mine is energy, much like yours. I take it away from those who no longer need it. There's Illness, Disaster, Depression, so many. Our least favorites are the Guardians." He said the name with disgust. "They only come around to ruin things for us. Awful people, terrible, dreadful." Someone was fighting against Pitch and his crew. That's what the training was for.

"Any other ladies in your little group?" Annie asked almost playfully in an attempt to lighten up the mood and transition the subject. Annie saw his silver eyes roll dramatically in his head. How _dare _he! Immediately she knew they wouldn't be getting along. What a uptight guy. _Maybe someone should pull the stick out of his-_. Her thoughts were cut off by his voice. "Just one. Her name if Phobia. Much more intense than Fear, or Pitch." Fear, that's what Pitch specialized in. Okay, yeah, she understood that completely. He was a rather scary man at times.

The conversation ended there, something Annie was a bit thankful for, This Lev guy was a real pain in the ass to socialize with. The stable they entered was significantly larger than the first five with several bags just like the first. "Show me." Lev said curtly. _I guess we're getting right down to it than, asshole. _Annie did was she was told, no longer needing to concentrate much, she easily lifted a particularly heavy bag. Lev nodded in thought next to her with a hand on his chin. "Explain how you do it to me." Hm. Explain. Well, that's a tough thing to do. Managing to find the right words had never been the easiest task for her. "Well, first I focus on the colors surrounding the object." Annie said, circling her finger in the air.

"The colors?"

"Yeah, the colors. Then I think about them getting really hard and dense, almost solid, ya know?" Annie rambled. After receiving the reply from Lev she continued. "Then I just sort of lift it. It's a lot like having another, stronger arm. I'm sure you know about that. I don't really need to think about it much anymore, if I want something to move it moves." She said with a shrug as she placed her hands smugly on her hips. Lev nodded once more before smacking his lips. The rest of the day was _shitty. _Annie hated the man next to her, so proper and perfect.

The last of the activities included a stuffed dummy which Annie had to animate to look realistic. Annie began to lose her patience quickly. Time after time Lev made her do it again, saying that a leg looked limp or an arm moved too stiffly. "Again." He said emotionless as he did the dozens of other times. Annie was sweating buckets, angry, and about to soil herself from the intensity of the energy flowing through her. "Well I'm sorry, Mr. Perfection," she started angrily. "Animating an entire body is pretty goddamn hard." Lev did nothing but scoff at her as she began to move the doll once again, making it skip and glide gracefully across the ground. It looked so good! Annie looked over at Lev excitedly but he looked indifferent.

"Again."

That night was the first time Annie had ever been violent. Usually she was such a calm and content person. Before Annie knew was she was doing, her hair whipped wildly around her and the doll slammed into Lev, and through the wall of the stable. The dummy and Lev crashed into the dirt so hard they dug into the soil, creating a long crevasse to the crater where they sat limply. The reality of what she did kicked in after scanning her red vision over the field. Archer was leaning calmly against one of his stables snickering quietly. It was Pitch that worried her. He stood about one-hundred yards away from her with a fury washed expression on his face that surely matched her own. It caused her hair to fall back over her shoulders and her vision to clear up. _I just injured one of a very powerful group. _At first the thought brought her intense fear. What was going to happen? Would they kill her? But after taking Pitch's screaming, it brought on pride. **She **_**injured **_**one of a **_**very powerful **_**group. **A young girl doing that to a man who was probably hundreds of years old. Under all the fear she felt there was a tad bit of pride that she felt for doing that to someone so insanely powerful.

The next day after Pitch had cooled off a bit, they came back. They did a sort of score, like a scale from one to ten, giving her around a six in regular combat, and a seven in her energy skills. It was surprising to -say the least- that Lev actually liked her energy skills.

"Learn to control that." Lev leaned in and said. He didn't seem mad, something that had surprised Annie. He almost laughed it off, treated it like a joke. Not that Annie minded that at all. It was much better than having him hate her for eternity. He didn't seem as bad now that the embarrassing training incident was over, but Archer was her favorite, no doubt.

"We wanna take you to meet the gang." Archer said with a smile.

"Oh boy, how intimidating." Annie said sarcastically. _Oh fuck me._

* * *

_Okay_

So this is the sixth chapter. I myself am not very fond of it but I hope my readers like it. I can't believe I took so long to update and I'm sorry, but a lot of stuff had been getting in the way. I'm trying to pump out all these chapters now because school is starting in two days and I will have zero time to work on it. So far I have up to chapter twelve up and ready to be read by all of you guys.

Anyways, sorry if this chapter sucked.

Totally listen to the song, I Got A Man by Positive K because old music is the bomb guys.

Later!


	6. Meeting the Crew

"Missed a spot, Annie." Pitch said as she stood above her, motioning to a spot next to her. Annie was currently on her hands and knees scrubbing the marble floors of the dinning hall. She groaned lightly at his comment before turning to the patch of dirt to her left. _"It could be worse." _Annie assured herself in her head. "_He could have killed you for good." _The thought made her punishment for attacking her trainer seem much better. She would take scrubbing dirty floors to being to being torn to pieces any day. Annie leaned back onto her knees, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow as she surveyed her work. The floor shined brightly in the sun streaming from the large windows. A smile spread across her youthful face.

"Am I done?" She asked; looking up at Pitch, waiting excitedly for praise. His golden eyes scanned the vast room slowly, cupping his chin with long fingers. His hands moved to link behind his back as he gazed down at her.

"Yes, I suppose this will do." He said in an almost lazy manner. His eyes took one more quick sweep across the space before raising his arm as he remembered something. "I had almost forgotten, please set the table. Then you may dress." Pitch instructed firmly; looking briefly at her thin under dressings. His dark form turned to walk out of the room. "Make sure to look presentable. It is an honor to have such strong beings be on your side." He said over his shoulder to her. It was something that he did often, throwing words over his shoulder. It seemed exceptionally unpersonal and careless. Rude for the most part. Annie hadn't even been with him for a week and she already knew that he wasn't a very personal guy, not that she cared much. _A little gratitude would be nice. _Though the more she thought about it, the more absurd the thought became. He didn't owe her a thing, she was the one in dept. He took her in, not the other way around.

Annie sighed loudly at the truth of such ideas and pulled herself from the floor just as a dark mass dripped from the ceiling - seeming to come to help with the table - while another entered from the kitchen totting the finest plates and cutlery she had ever seen. Of course, she was just a poor peasant girl, so what did she know? Less than she cared to admit. This because evident as she stared helplessly at the large array of silverware. Annie rarely ever used spoons back in her village; choosing instead to just slurp soups straight out of the bowl, not very lady-like but it filled her belly. Eventually -after copying the shadows- Annie placed everything properly. She gave the table an arrogant gaze before turning to go back to her wing.

Nervousness began to set in as the gravity of the situation finally clicked. She _needed _to impress these creatures. Annie had no idea what would happen if she managed to upset of offend them in some way. With her luck who knew. Annie rolled her eyes at the thought. It always had to be her.

"I don't need help you know." Annie said between gasps as one of the clouds of darkness yanked sharply on the laces of her corset. Oh how she hated these things, so much so that she usually refused to wear them. Never had she worn one so insanely _tight. _Afraid that her ribs were on the verge of breaking; she pleaded with the mass to hurry up and be careful.

"_Just a moment." _It told her, annoyed. Annie rolled her eyes at the tone it had used. What a sassy one this was. The lacing was done relatively quickly after she had requested that it speed up the process. The garment allowed just enough room for her to take shallow, painful breathes. The irritation was etched all over her face and traced through her tone. "Who the **hell **would willingly wear such a dreadful thing?" Annie asked the minion behind her as she turned to examine herself in a nearby mirror. Though she hated to admit it, the corset did look good on her, really defining her young curves. The voice in her head snickered at her venom laced question. "Oh shut up." She said to the thing before it roughly slid a thin dress over her head. It consisted of two layers; the first was a deep red satin with length that swept the floor and sleeves that reached just before her shoulders. The next was an intricate black lace, deepening the bloody red color of the satin underneath. Her favorite part were the lace sleeves that reached all the way to the base of her thumb. Annie twirled once, enjoying the way the dress billowed slightly around her.

"_Enough fooling around, you are late." _The snarky voice rang in her head. Again Annie rolled her eyes at the damned being before rushing quickly out of her bedroom barefoot, following the loud voices and laughter of Pitch's guests. Their tone seemed a bit chipper for them. Late. She was late. Annie instantly found herself nervous of her punishment as she dashed into the dinning hall, nearly falling on her behind from the force of her stop. All eyes fall on her and the laughter stopped to glance at her. Pitch was the first to speak.

"Annie, don't you look lovely! Come sit, we were just talking about your training." He said in a lively in playful tone. Annie's face flushed at the memory as she quickly scanned for a seat. Pitch was sitting alone at the end of the table, four occupied chairs on either side of him. There was one available seat between Archer and Pitch. Everyone at the table greeted her warmly before continuing their embarrassing conversation.

"Anyways," Archer began next to her, placing his large hand on her shoulder. "the next thing I knew Annie here was standing with hair like Medusa and her eyes glowing red in this huge hole in the side of the shed and Lev was in the ground hugging a doll." Archer finished his story with booming laughter that which quickly echoed around the table. _Are they laughing with me or at me? _

"Oh, Annie, how rude of me. Let me introduce you to our guests." Pitch said warmly. "You already know War and Lev." War? So that was Archer's real name. It made a lot more sense than _Archer. _His hand moved to gesture to the person at his right, a man covered in all sorts of bandages. "Disaster." Well, that made sense enough. Next was a man will greyish-green skin, and a red nose, managing to look sick and healthy at the same time. "Illness." Next was Depression who actually looked the most human (with the exception of both Annie and Archer.) with pale skin and chestnut hair that fell in his eyes. Next to him was Lev. Annie was then introduced to a man with red skin. He looked sadistic with a cocky smile on his face, this was Pain. Lastly was Phobia. She was gorgeous with short, dark hair and the same golden eyes as Pitch. She wore a similar face to Pain.

"Annie, darling, we have heard _so _much about you." Pain said in an exaggerated tone. He was rude and Annie instantly disliked him. "Yes, I've heard good things about you as well." Annie said in a confident tone. She was not about to let this man get under her skin. His lips curled into that smile once more and he turned back to his food.

"So, how did you die?" Someone asked above the rest of the chattering at the table. It was Phobia, leaning forward on the table to look around Archer at her. The men on the opposite side ogled at her pushed up breasts openly, though she didn't seem to mind. The question was unexpected and brought back rather unpleasant memories. _Why not? _So Annie began her story.

"Well, I was at a lake with an old boyfriend's sister. He had died a few months before and she was mourning so I was there for her. One day she asked to go to the clearing where he died and I said okay. We ran around and played for a while." The whole group had quieted and leaned in closer to hear her story. "Next thing I know we were attacked by mother bear, we were probably a bit too close to her cubs. I woke up maybe a day or two later covered in dried blood a feeling the worst pain imaginable. I just wondered around aimlessly for months until Pitch found me." The table instantly erupted with questions about her life. 'What did you do?', 'What happened to the little girl?' but the one that jumped out at her was, "Can you tell us about your boyfriend?" It came from Pitch, which was a bit surprising to say the least. Annie never thought that he would be interested in her life, or maybe before life. It was an uncomfortable topic but she was motivated to share when the rest of the group nodded in agreement.

"Jack, his name was Jack. He was a two years older than me at the time. Around eighteen. He went ice-skating with his sister one day and fell through some thin ice trying to keep _her _from falling in. He really was a marvelous guy, funny, handsome," Annie looked around the room a bit scandalously. "well endowed." Her joke caused a few squeals and giggles, except for Pitch who looked a bit outraged. "Just joking. We had been friends all our lives, so his death was pretty upsetting." Annie had finished sadly. Wow, it had been a long time since she had even thought about Jack. It was a bit overwhelming, and Annie was genuinely relieved when they decided to change the subject.

"I'll need to speak to you after." Pitch whispered in her ear. A lump formed in her throat at his words. What is she being punished for? Being late? Talking too much? Annie sat in anxiety for the rest of the night, feeling even worse after everyone had said their goodbyes and left. They had taken forever to finally leave. The second the door had closed behind their guests Pitch turned to her with a look of anger across his ashen features. "Well endowed?" He said in disbelief. Admittedly, it was a bit out of line to say such a thing, but she hadn't really meant it.

"It was just a joke, Pitch." Annie said worriedly. She hadn't expected him to get mad. What was he mad about anyways? That she may or may not have seen a man's bits? Pitch scoffed at her, rolling his head and eyes toward the ceiling. "You made yourself look like _trash, _Annie." With that he grabbed her bicep tightly, able to easily overlap his fingers around it. "And you made me look like a fool. Only fools associate with trash." He ranted as he pulled her roughly up the stairs to her bedroom. It was terrifying, Pitch usually was during the few times that she had seen the man enraged.

"If you wish to speak like trash, you will be treated like trash!" He yelled at her before shoving her into the large room and stepping in after her, locking the door with a loud and intimidating click.

Needless to say neither of them slept that night.

* * *

Well golly would you look at that. Hinted sex and penis things.

Right. On. So seventh chapter, what did you think? This actually wasn't going to be added in any sort of detail originally because I just wanted to move on in the story but I thought, hey, why not. It is a pretty important bonding experience between everyone and extremely important to the relationship between Pitch and Annie.

That's all I really have today but if you've never listened to Cars That Go Boom by Le Tigre before than you are a l0zer.


	7. Masochistic Tendencies and Shitty Plans

"It's a shitty idea." Annie said warningly as she sat on a large mahogany desk, filing her long nails. She had been saying it for nearly two-hundred years and he still wasn't willing to listen. Two-hundred years of shitty ideas.

"It is not a shitty idea. It's perfect. Flawless even. I will not let you ruin this for me." Pitch said over a large piece of paper with several different drawings on it. admittedly they were beautiful drawings, but it was a _shitty _plan. Annie rolled her eyes as his persistence, her advice falling on deaf ears. Two-hundred years was enough to teach her that he was a stubborn man, he _got _what he wanted. Annie's face flushed a bit at one of his _most _demanded thing (maybe only second to destroying the Guardians.) She almost never resisted that.

So spoiled. Pitch was a spoiled man and two-hundred years had taught her that. All he ever wanted was to be believed in, to create fear. The idea of scarring children had almost compelled Annie to leave at the beginning. Why would someone want to harm someone so innocent? Annie still didn't understand and refused to be involved with such activities. Adults on the other hand she didn't mind. She had in fact went out on a few runs with the crew to do some of the dirtier work. Starting wars, causing cancer, pushing people just off the cliff of depression, soaking up energy like a sponge. Killing adults, that was a different story. Harming children was something Annie could never do. It was the twentieth century and she was not a barbarian.

"You're fighting fire with fire, you idiot. Sandman will easily overpower you with the help of the rest of the Guardians." Annie said with a roll of her emerald eyes. Honestly, how could someone be so ridiculous. Annie had been in several fights with the Guardians over the years. Several times she has had to fight for both Pitch and herself because of a shitty plan. No, not this time. This was a pretty monumental shitty plan. He wanted to slowly kill the Guardians by taking away belief. Even Annie knew that was a big deal. And this time he was picking on the Sandman, who was obviously the wrong person to pick on. He was **strong. **Annie knew from experience and had the scars to prove it. It was surprising how someone so small could pack such a punch. definitely not what she had been expecting. Annie still remembered to first encounter with the Guardians, fresh and humiliating in her mind.

_"Are you sure you want to go through with his, baby?" Annie said unsure to Pitch. He looked down at her sternly before giving her a quick 'of course.' It was a shitty plan. A really shitty plan. Annie couldn't believe the shittiness of this shitty plan. He wanted to attack the Guardians head on. The plan was that there was no plan, no set strategy, just an attack. _

_ It couldn't really be called an ambush, not with just Annie and Pitch going in. A better name would probably be a mistake, or maybe a really shitty plan. It was embarrassing. Pitch was usually such a smart man. _

_ "This is a really bad idea, you know that right?" Annie said, her irritation rising at his stupidity. Pitch didn't have any specific power, he was really just scary. Even will Annie's unbelievable power, they were easily outnumbered and would be even more easily overpowered. It was a really shitty idea. _

_ It was around Christmas time, so all four Guardians would be at the Pole helping North with his usual jolly preparations. Pitch reasoned that they would be caught of guard, giving Annie and himself an advantage. "No, no it won't." Annie had said, trying to talk him out of such a shitty plan. But Pitch didn't give up. It was annoying, not being listened to. The beating that came after silenced her quickly. Why not just let him fail? So she allowed him to go through with this terribly shitty plan. _

_ It probably would've been easy if Annie had just drained their energy. It wouldv'e taken only a few seconds. But no, Pitch said to make it last, to savor his glory. So she got stuck with using melee weapons and it disgusted her knowing that the most she could do was throw a few knives with her mind and fly (which she had gotten quite good at, an expert even.) But she went through with this shitty plan to prove a point. _

_ They broke into the workshop easily with Annie's powers. Pitch had almost squealed with joy when he saw the Guardians standing in a circle in the main room of the shop drinking hot chocolate. The smell of the beverage was tempting and Annie even considered ditching Pitch to join them. They wouldn't accept her of course, but she could have tried. But no, the beating Annie would get after that would be life threatening if not deadly. She wasn't stupid. She knew better. But maybe the angry sex afterwards would be worth it. No, no, Annie shook silly thoughts out of her head quickly before she foolishly acted upon them. It wasn't the time to think about sex. Honestly, even in death Annie's hormones didn't give up. Being frozen at the age of sixteen surely was a curse. _

_ Annie was suddenly forced out her of any thoughts by Pitch's signal, basically just a wave. It was silly really, as if saying, 'hey, I'm gunna ambush you know, okay?' Well, not ambush, but partake in a really shitty idea. So they silently slithered around the giggling group, waiting for the correct moment to strike. _

_ "Ei, I still have over six million more toys to make." North said tiredly, not that he made the toys so Annie didn't particularly know what he was complaining about. Maybe just whining to his friends. Obviously the Tooth Fairy and Sandman had it the worst, working everyday rather than just once a year. Whatever, it wasn't like her opinion really mattered at the moment. Slowly Annie rose behind North, still not seen by the group because of his size. He was like a huge, jolly curtain._

_ "Do you really have the energy for that?" Annie said in a low tone, allowing a billowing black energy to engulf her legs like smoke. It had no purpose, it was just for effect. Annie had to say that she was pretty badass, not to mention awesome for thinking of such an amazing pun. The Guardians probably didn't get the joke based on the way they instantly attacked. So she backed up and began throwing knives and flying just as she was instructed to do. She managed to do some damange to Tooth's feathers and wings, North's beard, and even clipped Bunny's ear a bit. Sandy was left untouched because, well, he was made of sand. Annie was pretty quickly pinned down by the team, without the help of Pitch. And where the hell was he? Gone. Probably back under his shitty old bed hiding from this shitty plan. What a shitty guy. She rolled her eyes at his stupidity once again and sank into the floor, completely blending with the colors and energy around her. Once outside (in the freezing cold) She flew all the way back to Pennsylvania in the Summer, leaving her sweating and dehydrated. Pitch was once again at his desk planing when Annie barged in._

_ "What the fuck!" She screamed loudly at him, hair and clothes clinging to her sweaty forehead._

The beating had been short but rough. Annie was used to it honestly. A few bruises were nothing compared to what he had done at his worst. And yet here Annie was, sitting back and allowing yet another shitty plan to go down. She vaguely wondered what kind of beating she would get this time. Would it be worse than after all the other terribly shitty failed plans or would this one be worse, history-making even.

Either way, Annie was going to stand and take it, allow him to take out his frustrations on her, knowing that she had been right. That's what made it worth it; knowing that she was right. And she almost always was. She may even be looking forward to it. Was she a masochist? Maybe. She wasn't really sure exactly what she was. definitely not miserable or weak.

Annie decided that she could leave anytime she wanted if she wasn't connected with that idiot, but she was. It wasn't emotional (though, maybe it was a bit.) It was purely of the soul, connected. Not in a mushy-gushy kind of way, they were quite literally connected at the soul. Not only would leaving him be mentally painful it would be physically excruciating. So yes, she could leave anytime, she just would really rather not. Annie was not a masochist, she knew that now. No way in hell was she going through _that _amount of pain just to get away from some beatings. No, she wasn't a masochist. Not at all.

"Pitchy, you know I'm usually right when it comes to your plans." Annie said softly, sitting on the edge of the huge desk. _Usually, try always. _"Not to mention the fact that you are totally posing on Sandy." She continued, using some of that new, hip slang. _Posin' on his swag. _Pitch ruffled his crazy black hair, not liking how it was beginning to fall into his eyes.

"Would you just shut up?" He said sharply, his irritation matching her own as he glared up at her. She glared back, resulting in an intense stare down. Finally Pitch gave. "Get out of my office." He said with a shove; causing her to clamber off of his desk on onto the floor with a loud thud. "And make me a drink would ya?" He said harshly before turning back to his beautiful drawings.

Okay, so maybe Annie liked when Pitch hit her.

But she was definitely not a masochist.

* * *

This chapter is my favorite so far because I think it really get's into Annie's thoughts and personality when it comes to Pitch's plans. I wanted to show how spending hundreds of years with someone like Pitch would probably change someone. Also, I didn't count how many times the word 'shit' or any variation of the word was used in the chapter but it was certainly a lot.

Totally off topic, did you guys see Miley Cyrus at the VMA's? Sweet nibblets that girl is getting out of hand, am I right? Whatever, I still like the song Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke. Listen to it if you haven't already which is probably a stretch. It is always blasting somewhere.


	8. Nightmares and Upsetting the Balance

Pitch's hollers of happiness could be heard across the castle and through the thick, brick walls. Her eyes narrowed a bit at the interrupting sound but continued to talk absent mindedly to Phobia. The girls had become pretty great friends despite the age difference that separated them. Both ladies found it very easy to relate to the other. It was warm that day in -even Annie was unsure- whatever dimension it was that they lived in and the two friends were enjoying some cool drinks outdoors among the brightly colored flowers (thanks to Annie.)

"What's his problem?" Phobia asked in an annoyed tone as she sipped her drink. Pitch's noise seemed to only get louder and louder, itching their eardrums.

"He's been working on this plan for a few years, I'm guessing something worked out." Annie replied carelessly. She was immune to her partner's antics.

"Oh a plan. A shitty one?" Phobia asked, trying to best to hide her smile with her cup. Annie grinned back at her.

"Yep." And with that both girls erupted with laughter, the kind of stomach aching laughter. It lasted until that happy screaming ran right into the back of Annie's chair, knocking Annie into the table and Pitch flat on his bottom. "I've done it!" he exclaimed between deep breaths.

"What did you do?" Annie asked in her usual disinterested tone. When it came to his plans (especially the terrible ones.) Annie was never very interested. She just sat back and zoned in and out as he rambled on and on about the Guardians and his "fool proof, amazing" plan. They were never fool proof or amazing, leaving Annie very, very bored. Maybe she should just kill the Guardians quick and easy and bring the bodies back for him as a gift. Oh god, she could hardly imagine the beating he would give her then. Maybe he would torture her, or just kill her there and then. Connected as they were, it would be pretty easy for him. He basically held her soul in his hand, ready to pinch, stretch, and crush as needed. He hadn't gone that far yet. It was too low of even him.

Finally Pitch's wheezing because to fade and slow until it was gone completely and he was able to talk without interruption. "I did it. I made the sand. Look!" He said excitedly, almost like a boy on Christmas. Annie almost laughed at herself. Pitch would take her over his knee if he heard her say that out loud. She looked at him halfheartedly to see whatever little stunt he would about to pull. To say she was surprised when a black sand horse came galloping from around the corner. It looked _menacing _to say the least. The creature was frightening in a strange way. She wasn't exactly scared for her life as most people were whenever they were scared, she was just scared. Scared of that thing. The horse began to grunt and buck.

"Be careful," Pitch whispered in her ear. "They can smell fear." Annie quirked a brow at this. They?

"How many are there exactly?" She said accusingly as she turned to face him completely, turning her back on the horse. Hoping that maybe if she couldn't see it she would be less afraid of the potentially dangerous creature. Annie had never liked horses.

"Around a thousand. It took me a very, very long time." Yes it had. Annie was there the whole time to witness just how long it had took. Over one hundred years maybe to think of the plan, perfect it, perfect the sand trick, and begin to set it into play. Over a hundred years.

Annie could barely believe that she had spent a hundred years of her time watching her much older lover play with sand instead of staying by her family who, at this point, were all long gone. But she tended not to think of it much. The point is that she was a loser. A selfish, selfish loser who had nothing better to do but watch the god of fear talk to sand in an attempt to make it move. He talked to the damn sand sweeter than he did to her, his girlfriend of three-hundred years. Why? What did sand have that she did not? Various rocks and minerals, yes, but flesh and bone? You can't really compete with that. Annie found herself vaguely wondering how many sand women he had created and slept with. It was a silly thought. Probably none because that would most likely hurt, but it still crossed her mind.

"So when do we get this moving?" She asked, a bit distracted by the thought of sand women and how that would most likely hurt a bit. Pitch cupped his chin as he usually did when he was thinking. "Soon. In the next year or so."

Suddenly, Annie was almost as excited to get moving as Pitch was. Though she wasn't keen on harming children, even if it was only their hopes and dreams, there was that craving for excitement and power that Annie had been surpressing. Now here it was, out in the open for everyone to see. It was rare for her to get giddy, but it called for it.

That night they celebrated with the crew over drinks and a meal. It was fun, a lot of fun actually. Dare she say the most fun she had ever had. Even if nothing absolutely crazy or amazing happen, they were content with drunken laughter and sore sides. They never partied for any other plans and Annie found herself wondering if maybe this plan would would out.

What if? What would happen if this worked and the Guardians were destroyed and fear was brought too the world? Would it be better or worse? It depended. That's what Annie finally settled upon. It depended on which side you were rooting for. Good fans would probably not be too happy. All those children waiting for Santa and the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny would certainly not be happy. But no doubt in her mind Pitch and herself would be. Annie tried to tell herself that was horrible. You can't just think like that. But she couldn't help but be happy. Finally she might have her way and that thought excited her to no end.

Maybe this time there would be no beating afterward, not that she was a miserable damsel. She could take care of herself.

definitely not a masochist.

* * *

This chapter isn't my favorite and I hate Phobia. In my mind her character is awful and evil and I just don't like her. However, I think that Annie would end up gravitating towards her because she was the only other female around. You can't talk about girl things with Pitch, lemme tell ya.

So yeah, love it, hate it. Tell me.

AND LISTEN TO THE GLAD YOU CAME DJSHARP VIOLIN REMIX IT IS PERFECT AND BEAUTIFUL


	9. Preparations

Preparations for the plan were long and tedious, between perfecting the nightmares, training, and last minute tweaks to the agenda. Annie wasn't fond of any of this. It wasn't at all fun and left her extremely bored. The repetitiveness of everything really round roughly on Annie's control over her energy. She needed fun and the ability to do as she freely wanted. It wasn't much of a selfish request, yet it still was denied. "We need to work." Pitch had said over and over. Annie always rolled her eyes at this behind closed doors, she didn't even need to work on anything. Sometimes it went well beyond eye rolling, extending into fits of rage and hatred; leaving things broken and tattered for the shadows to tidy up. She had thought about leaving many, many times, even laying out a plan as to how to go about doing so. But she never did. Leaving just wasn't an option. No, not possible. Annie's father would flip if he found out his daughter was acting like this. Like a beaten sick puppy who kept crawling back. Annie sighed at the thought, no longer denying the fact that she was totally whipped.

"What are you sighing about over there?" Pitch questioned absently as he stared down at some of his scribbles and plans. He did this several times a day; checking over his work, making sure there were no holes. There never was which was shocking to say the least. His plans _always _failed and yet this one seemed foolproof. Annie herself had studied it over and over and still finding no faults. It was hard to believe that Pitch actually had this one. There was no way the Guardians could actually win.

Annie was sitting on the desk, making sure not to sit on any of the papers, swinging her legs around like a child. Annie thought about the question. What was she sighing about? That she couldn't leave or that she didn't want to? The teenager settled that it was a mixture of both. She wanted to leave but she didn't. Annie shrugged and leaned back to support herself on her forearms. "Just thinking I guess." She answered simply, a bit afraid that Pitch would press her for details. He didn't and she could feel that he wouldn't. It was that damned connection.

The connection Pitch and Annie shared was made purely by accident. Annie hadn't wanted to be bonded to a man such as Pitch, someone whose one purpose was to bring fear to children. No, she would have never wanted that. She would never harm a child, leading her to believe that maybe she would hitting for the wrong team. Annie had to stifle a laugh at the ridiculous thought. No way in Hell would the Guardians ever accept someone like _her_.

Maybe it was better that way; to stay on the appropriate side. Annie was meant to stay here, in a relationship that was bitter and abusive. Now Annie was not about to throw Pitch under the bus, she also contributed to the physical and mental abuse. Maybe constantly reminding the poor man that his plans were awful, worthy of a toddler, were not the way to win his respect. That was something Annie was willing to admit. She wasn't perfect and neither was Pitch. But still, the bond that connection was the problem. Annie was aware that she was nothing but a pawn in Pitch's little game. Based on the observations of the plans in the past, he would probably leave her to die if it meant that he would live. It was the shock and betrayal on his grey face that punched her right in the gut every time she mentioned leaving. It convinced her that he _actually _did care, even if he had a funny way of showing it. It always ended with Annie comforting the older man, reassuring him that she would stay with him, and a beating of course. The teenager didn't care, it felt better to stay.

Annie shook her head a bit. What was she thinking? _No. _Annie thought sternly. _You need him more than he needs you._ With an animated snort Annie dismissed the thought. That was not true, what would he even do without her? Surely be killed by the Guardians. Anger began to bubble up in her system and she looked to her left at the large demon. She saved his ass **every **time. So perhaps he did need her. Though Annie would admit that she needed him too. He took her out of the village, away from all that loneliness and rotten food and gave her a home, a life. She would always be thankful for that. But still, that _damn _connection.

_"If you want to speak like trash, you will be treated like trash!" Pitch screamed angrily, doing a great job at frightening the much smaller girl almost to the point of wetting herself. With unbelievable control she was able to connect her brain to her bladder. Now was not the place or the time. Annie knew she was stronger than that. Stronger than Pitch even. She held onto that thought with comfort. She could easily stop him if she wanted to. He advanced slowly, his aura reeking with fury and another strong emotion that she hadn't quite felt yet. It was an odd burning emotion that struck her deeply. Annie tensed considerably as a large hand rose into the air, looking about ready to smack her. He was going to hit her. Annie wasn't too fond of the idea, but she agreed that she certainly deserved it. She had spoken like trash, it was not a was for a lady to speak._

_ The pain of the slap never came, instead there was the warmth of lips on her own. Dumbfounded, Annie froze. She had expected a brutal strike, making the kiss a bit more stunning than it would have been otherwise. He pulled away after a minute or so, looking her straight in the eye. The fury had simmered down to dull anger but it was nearly undetectable under the blanket of the new, unfamiliar emotion. "Participate, Annie." He demanded quietly before diving right back to her mouth. It took her only a second to process his words and perform, heating the kiss. _

Annie scowled at the memory. It had been lovely of course, but why. Why did it have to happen? It ws entirely her fault for not being more in control. She allowed her emotions and energy to fly off the handle. They sank deep into Pitch's body, to his very core and clicked. The pair had immediately stop there carnal movements and stared at each other in mutual understanding. They knew what had happened. Lev had talked about it before. Annie damned herself for being so stupid. She should have know to keep it in check. What was this, amature hour?

"Annie!" Pitch yelled in her ear to throw her back into reality. She got it together quickly and eyed her lover questioningly. He held is hands out to her expectantly and Annie got the picture. Energy. He heeded the energy to keep working, which was understandable considering he had being working nonstop for weeks. Annie just smiled, happy to be helping the small bit that she was, and placed her petite hands over the back of his smooth palms. Taking energy was a Hell of a lot easier than giving it, honestly making her dislike doing it so often. It left her drained because her body craved it like a drug. Drug addicts would never willingly and happily give away their stash. It was what she was _made _of, it wasn't just a neat trick, it was part of her. Pitch's eyes brieftly fluttered closed and he breathed deeply. He looked so vulnerable -maybe even human- in moments like this, those rare relaxed and unguarded moments. The peace was short lived, cut by his eyelids shooting open and his body twisting violently back to his work without so much as a thanks. Annie knew that he was thankful.

The pair sat like that for hours each day, Pitch working and Annie giving. Sometimes they would have small conversations. "So what exactly is my role in this?" Annie asked skeptically. She didn't seem to be doing much to help other than giving him some energy now and then. Pitch never did discuss much of the plan so she was still curious about her part in it. The older man flipped a page in a large booklet of papers, golden eyes scanning the messy writing there before turning his gaze up to her with a hand on his chin like he hadn't been paying attention to what she said. Finally it clicked.

"Oh, yes. Well for the most part you will be there to intimidate them, give energy as needed." He stated simply and waited for he response. Annie went over it in her head and shrugged. It was easy enough with very few chanced for her to mess it up. She nodded, ebony hair bouncing as she did so and Annie found herself almost excited to show the Guardians what she could really do. "Just do a few tricks to scare them, you are very powerful." He finished absently and turned back to his pages. Annie smiled at the compliment and rose to leave to room at his obvious dismissal.

"Hello Abdiel." Annie sweetly greeted the gigantic dragon and she sat in the soft grass next to it. His golden eyes rolled lazily to look at her and grunted. It was painfully clear that the reptile wasn't fond of the teenager but Annie didn't care. It was a bit better than sitting in unwanted silence with Pitch, thought it would probably be all the same with Abdiel. Annie smiled at the animal. "Am I bothering you?" She asked teasingly. The animal exhaled deeply and made a sound similar to a groan. Annie laughed at his response and he seemed to glare at her, a look at said he was very annoyed with her. She got up and strutted lazily back to the entrance of the large castle, leaving the antisocial dragon to himself.

Annie walked through the main hall and through the dinning room to the kitchen. It had changed a lot during her three-hundred years here, going from just a few fireplaces to stainless steel appliances serving gourmet meals. It was pretty amazing. In front of a counter was a shadow already preparing dinner even though it was still late morning. "_Hello_." It spoke to her telepathically. She smiled at it's greeting and strolled up next to him. It wasn't often that Annie ate out of boredom, Pitch was against eating unhealthily and her old village never had enough food to eat when you weren't hungry. It was a luxury when she was able to just eat.

"I'm getting a bit hungry." Annie stated simply and sat up on the counter. admittedly it wasn't the most sanitary option but it was a habit of hers. "_Anything in particular?_" It asked politely. She shrugged a bit and leaned back on her elbows, allowed her head rest on her shoulder. The shadow went about slicing various vegetables, occasionally slipping her a few chunks for her to munch on.

"Annie!" The sound of Pitch's voice boomed through the kitchen and echoed along with the sound of the doors slamming against the wall. Annie jumped at the sound, falling off the counter and nearly choking on the half-chewed piece of carrot in her mouth. He sprinted into kitchen and stood above her, grabbing her arm in an impressive grip and pulling her to her still unstable feet. "Pitchy, what are you doing?" She asked almost fearfully. Annie wasn't sure if she had done something wrong. Did he not like that she was eating before lunch? He didn't answer, instead continuing to draw her through the entrance of the castle. Annie gasped at the sight.

In front of the manor were hundreds of thousands of nightmares. They grunted and huffed anxiously, kicking up dirt and creating a dusty cloud. Annie wasn't afraid of them anymore, but the rumbling sounds were almost war-like. That's what frightened her. She didn't want this to be a war. Pitch turned to her with an excited smirk and grabbed her wrist, tugging her on to a dark nightmare in the front of the group. Her eyes were wide with worry and fear. "Pitch, what are you doing?" She asked through a tight throat as she wrapped her arms around his long waist. The teenager could feel the vibrations of his dark chuckles on her hands.

"We're going to the Tooth Palace." He announced loudly not only to Annie but to the nightmares as well. Annie remembered the plans, phase two. So he had already gathered the Guardians? Annie hadn't known about that. She was yanked out of her thoughts by the sudden upward movement of the nightmares as they exited the hole under the bed, sweeping out into the outside world.

* * *

This is when the actually story starts to happen, the beginning of the main plot I guess rather than all the back story stuff. This chapter was so-so, I definitely could have done better but I am in a rush to get some of these chapters out. I'm estimating that there will be around twenty chapters in this story, maybe a few more but I'm not sure. I have a lot planned for this story and I can't wait to show everyone.

Listen to Africa by Toto just because.


	10. Old Friends and Broken Connections

It had taken forever to get to the Tooth Palace, over twenty hours if Annie recalled correctly. It was filled with Pitch's boasting and bragging about his _amazing _plan and even talking about the future. How everyone will fear the Boogieman and his henchgirl.

"Just imagine, Annie! No Christmas, no Easter, no dreams, no little fairies sneaking in during the night." Pitch sounded more like a child than the god of fear with all that excitement in his voice. Annie sat and listened, never saying a word. Pitch didn't seem to mind, instead he continued to talk about the plan and the future and the downfall of the Guardians to what could have been nothing but a brick wall. Annie sat on the back of the nightmare, clutching onto Pitch with her head pressed tightly into his shoulder blades, thinking.

What would the world be like without the Guardians? Annie _couldn't _imagine it. She couldn't help but feel horrible for all those children, for the Guardians. Without some good to balance out the evil what would happen? Something awful, Annie knew that. Well, she felt it. You can't upset a natural balance without tipping something way off. Was that really worth being believed in? Maybe it was to Pitch, but not to Annie. She had never been believed in in the first place. It was important to Pitch though, so she helped and couldn't keep away that slow sinking feeling in her stomach that perhaps that was the wrong thing to do. _I should have just stayed at the village. _She thought and it was true. If she had stayed she would have never been in this mess, she would have never fell for Pitch, would have never gotten connected, and would have never set out to destroy the Guardians.

It was easier to think about what life would have been like had she ignored or rejected Pitch that day in the clearing. She probably would have kept up with her daily activated of wondering and eating rotten food. Maybe she would have saw her father get married and have another daughter and die with his family. Annie allowed herself to smile at the thought of her father finally moving on in his life after months of depression. It warmed her heart. And May, perhaps she found someone new and continued her own life, visiting Annie's father for silent tea meetings. Maybe Annie would have even been able to make them believe in her somehow, to see her. Annie's heart soared. What if? Of course it was too late but it was a nice, happy thought to dwell on before destroying so much happiness.

"Now when we get there," Pitch began to instruct over his shoulder when the brilliant palace came into view. The place was surrounded in a bright, fun aura that Annie just adored. It was a refreshing change from the dull, evil aura of Pitch's domain. "You will go and help the nightmares collect the teeth and fairies. Only come out if I need you too." He finished strictly. Annie nodded against his back. She had seen the fairies before on late night trips outside. They were adorable little things even if they always screamed and ran away from her. Annie always dreamed of seeing the Tooth Fairy when she was a little girl, her father telling her wonderful stories about her. Growing up a fairy fan, this definitely hurt Annie.

The nightmares banked violently around the palace, snatching fighting fairies in there jaws and storing them in their ribcages. Annie had to close her eyes even though she knew they weren't being hurt. There were fairies and nightmares everywhere, nightmares obviously winning against the small feathered creatures. Tooth Fairy was there in person as well, furiously fighting off what she could.

"Go, Annie!" Pitch yelled over the chaos of the palace. She hadn't even registered that they had landed in front of a gigantic wall. Annie's emerald eyes met Pitch's golden ones and she lept off, dashing right towards the wall. There were millions of pictures on the wall, each one of a different child. She even recognized some from her old village. She began pressing her fingers to the pictures, opening the cubbyhole with a flash of light and pulling out the canister of teeth, throwing it mindlessly behind her for one of the nightmares to grab. She worked like this for what seemed like forever before something caught her eye.

There were two pictures, one of a little brown-haired boy, one of a little dark-haired girl. Immediately Annie flew up the wall and hovered in front of the pictures. She recognized the children instantly. "Jack." She whispered before hastily tapping the pictures and snatching the canisters, stuffing them in the waistline of her brown hunting pants and covering them with her loose, draped, forest green shirt. It concealed the teeth perfectly much to Annie's excitement though she was afraid they would slip out. She pulled away from the wall, allowing the nightmares to do the rest of the work and floated off to where Pitch was.

She could hear his booming voice half-way there, sounding as if he was having a casual conversation with them. "The Big Four, all in one place. I'm a little star-struck." He stated, waiting a beat before continuing, this time speaking directly to North. "Did you like my show on the globe, North? Got you all together, didn't I?" He said smugly. Annie hides out of view of her lover and the Guardians behind and tall glowing pillar. She can hear an feminine growl of anger before the whoosh of wings.

"Pitch, you have got thirty seconds to return my fairies!" The Tooth Fairy warned angrily. Pitch just scoffs at her threat. Annie can feel the arrogance flowing off of him in waves. "Or what? You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?" Annie can feel him moving about the room through the shadows. It was an element of that intimation they had talked about. There was going to be a lot of that.

"Why are you doing this?" North spoke up, his swords clanging around. Annie was surprised that Saint Nick carried swords. Why would he need them to deliver gifts to children?

"Maybe I want what you have. To be believed in." Pitch's rises considerably, Annie could feel him moving through the shadows again, this time emerging from behind a column. "Maybe I'm tired of hiding under beds." He ands angrily. His cockiness was only growing as his anger rose.

"Maybe that's where you belong!" Bunnymund adds. Pitch laughed dryly at this before moving around in the darkness once again. Annie figured that would be intimidating, not know where your enemy could turn up next. Annie feels a bit of surprise in Pitch before he speaks again, this time in a mocking sort of shock. What could he be shocked about?

"Hang on, is that ... Jack Frost?" Jack Frost? Annie's eyes widen and she whips her head around the column to stare at the Guardians. She saw the standard four, looking around until she recognized Pitch standing by a column. He was speaking to a boy with white hair holding a large hook-like staff. Pitch laughed. "Since when are you all so _chummy_?" He asked. Annie watched on with wide eyes.

"We're not." The boy said sternly. Annie nearly squealed, using all of her restraint to stay put. She knew that voice, had heard it a million times. Always a bit too low for the boy's age. Pitch spoke up again, this time intentionally being cruel.

"Oh good. A neutral party. Then I'm going to ignore you. But, you must be used to that by now." He said casually, triumph shooting out of his pores. Even from so far away Annie could see the light in Jack's blue eyes die and his sadness hit Annie right in her heart. He wasn't believed in. Annie had experienced it herself, people ignoring her, walking through her as if she weren't there. It was painful, she knew that. Understanding filled her and she flew, though she didn't tell the energy to lift her.

"Jack!" Annie screamed before she could stop, flying like a first-timer because of her emotions. She hit the floor hard in middle of the opposing sides, her body aching and long hair everywhere as she fought to get up. She could feel the shock off everyone around, fury slashing out of Pitch. Annie didn't care. "Annie!" Pitch hissed at her, clenching his fists so hard his muscles turned with and a blue vein rose on his forehead. She groaned as she pulled herself off of the floor despite her screaming ribs and glared at Pitch.

"No." Annie snapped at him. Her own confidence shocked her as she stood up shakily. Pitch look at her in outrage. Annie had never stood up for herself against him before and she could already feel the slow burning deep in her body from the coming separation. "This is wrong, Pitch!" She yelled at him cradling her rips gently as if to protect them. Pitch growled at her, disappearing in the shadows before rising in front of her.

"Who is Jack Frost to _you_?" He demanded, spraying saliva all over her that she didn't care to wipe away. He sneered at her silence. "Answer me!" He screamed directly in her face, she cringed at the order out of habit. What had she gotten into. Moving at incredible speeds, he lunges at her, grabbing her wrists in one hand her jaw in the other and brings her to him, spinning her around to face the stunned Guardians.

"Oh, _I_ know." Pitch announced mockingly. "Jack, that little boyfriend you had. The one that drowned." He added, the grip on her hands and jaw getting tighter and tighter with every word. Annie struggled, knowing that she could easily get out of his hold with her power but she refrained for now. "Fuck you." She spat. No sooner had the words come out of her mouth the sharp pain of a slap flashed across her face and she was on the floor again. The burn from the slap was nothing compared to that she was feeling in her body. It felt like she had swallowed lava, why wasn't Pitch feeling it? He was stalking closer to her when a voice spoke up.

"Get away from her, Pitch." It was the Russian accent of North. It was menacing and would have scared Annie if she had been paying less attention to the melting of her insides. She could hear the footsteps of all four Guardians step a bit closer to Pitch who was still sending arrogance every which way. "Not so fast, _Guardians_." He spits the word like it tasted foul and laughs, the sound followed by the grunting, rearing of a nightmare. Annie turns to gaze from the floor to see him soothing the being to calm it down a bit. He brings his hand to it's mane, drawing up a wisp of black sand and twirls it in his palm, this time speaking to Sandman.

"Look familiar, Sandman? Took me a while to perfect this little trick, even ask Annie. Turning dreams into Nightmares." He said, her name no longer flowing charmingly off his tongue, know her own name was being used to mock her. The Nightmare rears again and Pitch laughs. "Don't be nervous, it only riles them up more. They smell fear you know." He informs smugly. Bunnymund laughs at him. "What fear? Of you? No one's been afraid of you since the Dark Ages!"

The statement hurt Pitch even if only momentarily. "Oh, the Dark Ages." Pitch said, his voice drowning in nostalgia. "Everyone frightened. Miserable. Such happy times for me. Oh, the power I wielded!" He exclaimed loudly before his voice lowered. "But then the Man in the Moon chose you to replace my fear with your wonder and light! Lifting their hearts and giving them hope! Meanwhile everyone wrote me off as just a bad dream! 'oh there's nothing to be afraid of, there's no such thing as the Boogeyman!'" He screamed in outrage before calming down enough to continue. "Well that's all about to change."

Annie knew exactly what was happening before it happened. The palace began to crack and crumble and if decaying. Pitch laughed at the ruin of a nearby column. "Oh look, it's happening already." He said cockily. Annie stood up, the pain fading slowly until it rested at a dull burn. Everyone's eyes where widening in shock as the palace crumbled around them.

"What is?" Jack asked and Tooth sits in stunned silence as she feels the loss of the children.

"Children are waking up and realizing the Tooth Fairy never came. I mean much a little thing, but to a child..." Pitch said in that same mocking tone. Annie shifted her gaze to Tooth who kneeling on the floor. Hey eyes were filled with tears as the light left them. "They don't believe in me anymore." She said mournfully. Pitch's laughter echoed around the room.

"Didn't they tell you, Jack? It's _great _being a Guardian - but there's a catch. If enough kids stop believe, everything your friends protect - wonder, hopes and dreams - it all does away. And little by little, so do _they_." Jack's eyes widen in realization. Annie could tell he finally understood the magnitude of Pitch's plan. "No Christmas, or Easter, or little fairies that come in the night. There will be nothing but fear and darkness and me! It's your turn not to be believed in!" Pitch was interrupted by Bunny who throws his boomerangs at him though they were quickly dodged. Pitch jumped onto the back of the Nightmare down into the depths of the Palace. The Guardians dive after him. Jack stayed behind, staring at Annie's hunched frame before following the rest.

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Yay! They finally met! Well, to some degree. Annie knows now that Jack is still alive (kind of?) This chapter really excited me, it sets up the whole rest of the story. All the dialog was taken directly from the movie script with the exception of a few things that tied it into the story. I just want to thank everyone because you're all super and I love you and want to make you egg sandwiches in the morning.

Listen to Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. I have decided that none of the songs will have anything to do with the story unless I say so. These are all just songs I like.


	11. Broken Ribs and Found Teeth

The Guardians had come back to get her a few moments after seeing as she was in no condition to fly on her own, Tooth scooping her up despite the fairy's weakening strength and previous distaste for the teenager. They sat in the Tooth Palace Lagoon, Tooth and Jack on the ground next to each other talking and the rest standing next to Annie who was on the ground in a considerable amount of pain. She wasn't about to voice it though, this wasn't exactly about her, it was about Tooth. Annie could already tell that at least two of her rib were broken from her earlier fall.

"Okay, alright I admit it, you were right about Pitch." Bunnymund admitted to North, it was obvious they were playful rivals of sorts. Annie knew that with Easter and Christmas there just had to be. North sighed at his friend and patted his belly. "This is one time I wish I was wrong. But he will pay." He said, looking down at Annie by his feet before turning his attention back to the pair who were now walking across the pond. Annie listened in on what they were saying.

"That's why we collect the teeth, Jack. They hold the most important memories of childhood. My fairies and I watch over them and when someone needs to remember what's important, we help them." She said with a gesture to the huge, beautiful mural above them of herself doing just that. "We had everyone's here. Yours too." She continues with a smile. Jack's head whips around to look at her.

"My memories?" He asks dumbstruck. Tooth looks at him questioningly before answering. "From when you were young. Before you became Jack Frost." She informs simply. Jack looks down in thought. "But I wasn't anyone before I was Jack Frost." He said more to himself than Tooth. He didn't remember a thing. Tooth gives him the same look.

"Of course you were. We were all someone before we were chosen." North chuckled at Tooth's statement and gestured to Bunnymund. "You should have seen Bunny." Bunnymund jumps at the mention of his formal self and glared at the much taller man. "Hey, I told you never to mention that!" Annie chuckled openly at the bickering pair though the movement angered her ribs. Yes, that rivalry was painfully obvious. She turned her attention back at Jack who was still processing all the new information.

"That night at the pond...I just, why I assumed... Are you saying, are you saying I had a life before that? With a home? And a family?" He asked Tooth excitedly. It broke Annie's heart that he couldn't remember. "Yeah, Jack. I remember you. We were friends." Annie spoke up. Jack turned around in surprise at her voice. The last time she spoke was when she was standing up against Pitch. His eyes widen with happiness. "Really?" He asked with a wide smile and looks back to Tooth.

"You really don't remember?" She asked in disbelief, it was clear that all of them remembered but Jack. Jack begins to jump up and down with his excitement like a small child on Christmas morning. It was adorable. Annie couldn't stop the smile that spread over her lips.

"All these years, and the answers were right here. If I find my memories, then I'll why I'm here. You have to show me!" He gushed and leaped around the pond in a single bound. Tooth's face falls at the mention of the teeth. "I...I can't, Jack. Pitch had them." She said sadly. Jack floats down onto a nearby rock overlooking the Guardians. He was thinking, Annie could tell. His brows were knitted and and pale lips were set in a soft line. The conversation was interrupted by a soft, metallic clank. Everyone looked down at the source of the sound. On the ground against the rock Jack was perched on was a golden canister with the picture of the brunette boy on it. The Guardians looked at Annie in disbelief.

"Pitch told me to help snatch the teeth. I had to keep yours, Jack even if Pitch would have beat my ass for it." Annie said with a smile while everyone continued to stare. Her emerald eyes narrowed a bit. "I'm really not all that bad, you know. Can we hurry this up? My ribs are broken." She continued and looked away and focusing on the rock wall inches from her head, prodding her ribs with her index finger to feel the broken points, hissing each time she found one. Annie was insanely thankful for her healing factor now, knowing that the ribs would heal in just an hour or so. They were already almost there. Her thoughts were interrupted by a gasp from Tooth.

Annie watches as a patch of Tooth's shiny feathers fall out and vanish into the air. Everyone's eyes fill with worry. "Oh no!" Tooth exclaims as the ancient mural beings to disintegrate. "The children. We're too late." She says hopelessly. Annie's attention is pulled to North who is pacing back and forth with his swords at his temples.

"No! No! No such thing as too late!" He scolds before his eyes light up. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Idea! HAH!" He's so gleeful and the others look at each other as if he was nuts. Annie had to chuckle at his behavior. It was clear he was a fun man to be around. He swung his swords out, causing everyone including Annie to jump back for their own safety. "We will collect the teeth!" He exclaimed as if it were the best idea in the world. It seemed pretty stupid to Annie, of course this was the man who delivered billions of gifts in just a few hours.

"We're talking seven continents, millions of kids!" Tooth began as if to talk North out of the idea. Annie couldn't imagine why she was subtly protesting such amazing help. Maybe she was just to proud. North laughed at her, something he seemed to do often and pointed his swords to his chest to gesture to himself. Jeez, this man was going to kill himself with those damned things.

"Do you know how many gifts I deliver in one night?" He asked smugly, bringing up the fact that he was indeed _the _Santa Claus. Bunny stood by him, gesturing to himself with his own weapons just as North had done. _All these people are going to kill themselves. _But how much damage could you really do with a boomerang anyways? "And eggs I hide in one day?" He chimed in just as smugly as his taller friend. Then the focus was on Jack, who had yet to pick his teeth up off the ground thought Annie could see the way his icy eyes flickered to this almost desperately every so often and could feel the way that desperation and curiosity grew over the course of the conversation. His eyes were now locked on the small canister, barely paying attention to the voices around him.

"Jack," Tooth began, snapping the teenager out of his trance and forcing him into the conversation. "will you help us?" She asked hopefully, her large pink eyes twinkling with hope. Annie found it ridiculously hard to not find that adorable female amazing, so strong and confident. A smirk cut Jack's face and he nodded. "I'm in."

"And Annie, if you help us we'll protect you from Pitch." Tooth said a bit softer than she had when she was speaking to Jack. All the eyes were on her as she thought about it. One particular pair seemed extremely unhappy with all that was going on, Bunny, who obviously didn't like Annie or Jack just glared dangerously in her direction. Annie had encountered him a few times, sometimes rotting his eggs or destroying them completely, drinking in all that excited energy that left the kids as they found the disappointing and smelly things. She glared back though if she was in his place, she would probably hate herself too. "I don't _need _your protection." Annie spat as she stood up as confidently as she could with her still aching ribs. "I'll help you because I want to," She admitted to the team who just listened intently. "and then I'm gone. You won't have to worry about me anymore." She finished, turning away from the eyes and looking at the destroyed mural.

"I can't believe we're doing this!" Bunny finally spoke his mind, pointing his boomerang in the direction of the two teenagers. "We're really allowing these two to help?" He said as if they weren't there and looked at his teammates in disbelief. "She's sleeping with Pitch, how do we know this isn't a set up?" Annie's hands were suddenly swallowed by the dark, smokey energy.

"Shut your goddamn mouth, Rabbit, you need me more than I need you right now." She ordered in a low, dangerous tone. She agreed to help them and now the _Easter Bunny _was throwing opinions around? "I'm not about to take this from a rodent." That's when she felt that slight prickle of amusement in her side, finding herself shocked when it came from Jack. Her curiosity peaked when she barely heard him whisper the word 'kangaroo' under his breath. No one else seemed to notice, all of them focusing on her and her odd pause in her ranting. "He does have a point, Annie." Tooth's voice knocked her out of her mental prodding and back into reality. Annie laughed cockily and floated back until she was leaning on the rock wall comfortably with her feet kicked out in front of her. She found herself thankful that her ribs were feeling better, otherwise she would have looked ridiculous rather than confident.

"That the kangaroo does, but can't you just trust me?" She said, throwing the obvious insult Bunny's way. The rodent gasped and looked between Jack and Annie in shock. Jack was trying to hide his barely contained giggled in his fist. "I mean, crickey, you're really going to let an animal call the shots? I used to eat him for breakfast." Annie continued with a smile, mocking Bunnymund's accent perfectly. At this point Jack had to turn around to avoid anyone noticing his failing attempts at hiding his laughter.

"I ain't a kangaroo mate, I'm the Easter Bunny. Kids believe in me." Bunny said almost threateningly, stepping much closer to Annie than she would have otherwise been comfortable with. Annie rose a brow at his words, ignoring the close proximity. "Really gunna pull the belief card on me, mate?" This time not using his accent. "I don't even care about being believed in. I can help people without being believed in unlike you, ya know." Her voice softened considerably by the end of her words, it reminded her of her parents. The only people she had ever actually wanted to believe in her. She knew she was holding back tears, she knew that everyone else knew. They burned like hell but she would never admit it. "But whatever, I'm helping you whether you like it or not." The rest of the team nodded at her and began to make their way back to the sleigh. Bunny glared at her for just another moment for turning angrily to follow his team. Annie let out a sigh and floated upwards, condensing the energy under her to lay on her stomach in the air as the cloud carried her along.

"That kangaroo thing really gets to him. It's pretty funny." Jack said with a light-hearted chuckle. Annie smiled and looked down at him. He was looking up at her sympathetically which puzzled Annie a bit. She wasn't going to poke around his brain to figure out why, she respected him enough to not do that. The moment before had been an accident. "Yeah, it seemed that way.'' Annie answered simply. She didn't exactly know what to say to this boy from her past life. What were you supposed to say in that situation? Jack nodded and continued to walk alongside her, somehow staying close to the Guardians in front of them. It was a nice moment of silence; comfortable rather than awkward.

"How are you ribs?" Jack asked suddenly as they approached the sleigh. By then Annie had chosen to walk on her own, wincing anytime her swinging arms accidentally connected with her fractured bones. She could feel the concern that wafted off of his form. It briefly shocked Annie that he was at all concerned about her so early on. The others were clearly not nearly as concerned. She shook her head to bring herself out of her thoughts and shrugged. "They hurt when I touch them, but they should be healed by the end of the night. I'm still able to help." She played off her ribs as if they were no big deal but they had hurt like a bitch when she had first fallen. Annie had had broken ribs before, Pitch made sure of that, but they hurt just as bad every time. Maybe she was just being dramatic.

"How do you heal that fast?" Jack asked in surprise. It was a valid question. No one's fractured ribs healed in less than a day. Again she shrugged her shoulders; the movement angering the bones in question. God, if she didn't stop moving like this they would never heal. "I'm an empath and an energy master i guess you could call me. I can use energy to repair cells easily and quickly." She explained plainly. There was much more science around what happened but Annie thought that was the easiest way to explain it to someone who didn't know the ins and outs of her abilities. "It's a blessing when you're around danger everyday, ya know? Pitch's crew really liked that I could heal them as well." She finished. It was clear so was no longer talking to Jack though he still listened intently. Annie knew she tended to do that; fade in and out of a conversation. She had inherited it from Pitch. That's what happened when you spent three-hundred years with someone. Of course she would pick up on some of his she went again, prattling about in her thoughts. Annie nearly groaned out loud; she needed to kick this.

"Come everybody! Millions of teeth waiting to be collected!" North yelled excitedly to the two teenagers who were still idly standing next to the sleigh long after everyone else had boarded. Jack smiled up North and hopped into the rickety sleigh happily. It was no secret that those two obvious shared a close father-son bond. It was also no secret that the sleigh was groaning under everyone's weight. "That thing doesn't look safe." Annie added a bit nervously when she had meant to be cocky. She hadn't given her fear of the ancient machine permission to show through but it still had; a problem she regularly had with any emotion. The huge animals in front began to kick and grunt in an anxious and annoyed way.

"No matter! Everyone love the sleigh." The gigantic man boomed from above her. Annie was shocked for what felt like the millionth time that day when North bent down and scooped her up by the collar of her shirt and lifting her effortlessly into the back like a kitten. She wasn't fond of the way her shirt lifted when he did so, it exposed her stomach and arms and all the bruises and scars that were hidden under the fabric. She could have growled with disgust at the markings that littered her petite body. It wasn't so much the deep, lumpy scars that swirled around her torso and arms that bothered her; those were from the bear. It was the dark, barely raised marks and bruises that Pitch had left behind. Annie hated them and she knew that every person in that sleigh hadn't gotten an eye full. She ignored the worried and curious glances, choosing to instead copy Bunny's position with his paws gripping the seats with incredible force.

The reindeer grunted began to pull forward, bringing the sleigh forward quickly. Annie closed her eyes and gulped as they grew faster and faster, finally pulling off the ground and into the sky with excited whoops from both North and Jack. Annie was afraid of heights -always has been, always will be- but she was confident when it was her energy lifting her. Her breathing was heavy and rugged as they flew up even faster. Annie knew she wouldn't be the best flier in her condition if something were to happen and her heart nearly thumped out of her chest. "Calm down, Annie. It's fine." She heard jack laugh near her ear. She hated this! Annie was pretty sure her fingers would fall off if she held on any harder. _Wait.. _What was she holding onto? She opened her eyes just long enough to see that he right hand was clawing deep into Jack's covered arm. The teenage boy didn't seem to mind and if he did he definitely wasn't showing it, instead laughing and yelling like a boy on a roller coaster.

They landed in some small American somewhere near the East Coast. Annie wasn't sure of the exact location and didn't really care to know. Even if she did she wouldn't have had time to ask with Tooth barking out orders, addresses, and numbers. Annie sighed. It was going to be a long freakin' night.

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Hey guys! This is my favorite chapter so far, just so you know. I needed Annie to make some sort of connection with the Guardians and I feel like I did that. I want to thank anyone who has favorited and followed so far but I really need some reviews here, guys. I would love to hear your opinions. There will mostly likely be more than twenty chapters in this at the rate I'm going to now.

Listen to Good Little Girl (Bad Little Boy) by Marshal Lee and Fionna from the gender-bent episodes of Adventure Time. They are one of my hardest ships! And that Donald Glover, lemme let you.


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